Would a sin bin/red card system even have worked this time? IIRC the umpires didn't award a free kick in this case, if something doesn't get a free kick surely it means the player involved wouldn't be sent off.
Not to say that a send off system shouldn't be implemented, but it seems an odd incident to use to discuss it.
Umpire reported him. I feel like you could simply implement it as umpire report + player out for the game is a red card for the inciting player. Doesn’t seem overly controversial. I guess you would have times where the umpire doesn’t report but they seem to do it quite often already even in instances where a report is not necessary so I don’t feel like you’d miss too many cases.
I guess you would have times where the umpire doesn’t report but they seem to do it quite often already even in instances where a report is not necessary so I don’t feel like you’d miss too many cases.
That would cause the opposite issue then of players being removed when they shouldn't be.
Honestly it would be better if they missed cases and only sent off the most egregious examples. Umpire's jobs are already difficult and they often make mistakes because of that difficulty. An incorrect free kick is a lot less impactful than incorrectly sending a player off.